


100 ways of loving

by mellowly



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 100 sentences, Brief Sexual Content, Historical References, M/M, Off-screen death, Romance, alcohol mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 05:35:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13451613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellowly/pseuds/mellowly
Summary: 100 words.100 ideas.(or: there once were two men in love.)





	100 ways of loving

**Author's Note:**

> 100 single-word prompts turned into 100 sentences spanning the love of several centuries.

**100**

* * *

 

1\. lock  
Poland never locked his own door, Lithuania realised; the lock-and-key was not for keeping out but for keeping _in_.

  
2\. papercut  
“Ow,” he breathed, letting Poland bandage his torn-up thumb, “Careful there.”

  
3\. sunset  
The setting sun was their shared favourite; it painted Lithuania’s skin red and Poland’s eyes gold.

  
4\. award  
“Graduates, come forward,” and Lithuania felt his heart swell as Poland crossed the stage and accepted his diploma - he would have to give his own congratulations later.

  
5\. twilight  
The lonely darkness on the freight train enveloped him, and Poland thought silently: _this is what death feels like_.

  
6\. dawn  
It was dawn when he woke - dawn with dew on the poppies over his empty grave, and the bells of Saint Anne’s were ringing all around him.

  
7\. key  
“The key to a good batch is slow rising,” said Poland avidly, and Lithuania found himself laughing at the urgency with which he approached the art of baking gingerbread men.

  
8\. concert  
Poland rarely played for show, but tonight he held a private concert; two preludes, a waltz, and a fugue, all for Lithuania.

  
9\. tooth  
His whines as they sit waiting in the ER are somewhere between endearing and very annoying, Lithuania thinks - if only Poland hadn’t been so quick to chivalry his tooth might still be in place.

  
10\. chase  
Poland shrieked and dashed down the hallway, a dripping wet just-in-from-work Lithuania giving chase as the house filled with laughter.

  
11\. tattoo  
“You should get one sometime,” Poland mused offhandedly, fingertips tracing Lithuania's hipbone idly, “You’d look cool.”

  
12\. hallucinations  
The soft voice was only a dream, Poland knew, but he curled up into his ratty blankets in the bunker and listened to Liet whispering sweet, sorrowful things to him through the night, drowning out the sirens.

  
13\. gift  
Lithuania really should have expected that Poland would be the gift himself - he did not complain in the slightest as he laid his hands on silk and lace and pulled him closer.

  
14\. roof  
Poland had taken to sitting on the roof; exactly why nobody knew, but he looked majestic in his own, battered way, perching like a bird by the chimney, shouting curses at the sky.

  
15\. moon  
The moonlight did look good on Lithuania, filtering through the windows in the stables as they twined close together in the secrecy of the night.

  
16\. bully  
“Scram, kids,” said Poland’s loud, reedy voice as he stepped out from behind the trashcan, looking like a vengeful thunder cloud come to make justice on the boys throwing pinecones at a cat for fun.

  
17\. camera  
“I don’t know how this works,” Lithuania sighed, setting the complicated apparatus down on his desk in defeat.

  
18\. drive  
This, Lithuania recalls as the car swerves around a narrow bend and speeds off down the cobbled streets, is why I don’t let Poland drive.

  
19\. ghost  
The ghost of Poland lingered in Lithuania’s empty house for decades.

  
20\. alcohol  
It was pleasant, the buzz, forgetting and forgiving with the help of strong vodka, their open-mouthed kisses tasting bittersweet.

  
21\. band-aid  
As motherly and sensible as one would think, Lithuania usually carried a band-aid in his pocket.

  
22\. jeans  
The blue trousers were new-fangled, American, and high fashion, so naturally Poland was wearing some, stretched tight around his thighs in a way Lithuania just couldn’t take his eyes off.

  
23\. rug  
The rug was really not the place to do this, Lithuania mused as his elbows started to ache from leaning back on them, but then again, but the warmth of Poland’s mouth was just too _good_ to give up for even just a moment.

  
24\. chair  
The chair was much too empty, and cold, and Lithuania threw it out the next day.

  
25\. ribbon  
Sighing, he leaned back, letting Poland’s thin, clever fingers brush his hair back and tie the ribbon neatly.

  
26\. bathrobe  
“It’s silk! See, how nice,” Poland grinned, twirling a little for Lithuania who returned the smile; they really did deserve the small luxury of matching bathrobes, after all.

  
27\. phone call  
“It’s so very nice to hear your voice again,” Poland sighed, feeling as if drenched in warm rain when Lithuania chuckled quietly on the other end.

  
28\. gun  
“Don’t,” he choked, forgetting what he was about to say because Poland had a pistol in his hand, pulled from inside his jacket, and suddenly a bullet lodged itself in Lithuania’s chest and he was falling - he saw the flicker of remorse in Poland’s eyes as he turned and ran.

  
29\. desert  
“He’s not a deserter,” Lithuania spat at his laughing captor, instinctively defending Poland - did he not despise him then, after all?

  
30\. restaurant  
“Let me take you on a proper date,” Poland murmurs against his ear, “at some fancy place, and we can dance and drink pretend we just met and are falling in love.”

  
31\. magnet  
Sometimes, Lithuania wondered if Poland was naturally magnetic, with the way he seemed to draw everyone in towards him just a little.

  
32\. calendar  
It's been many many years, but still the sight of a date on the calendar is enough to halt Poland in his tracks, and he slumps into Lithuania's arms, already in tears.

  
33\. murder  
 _God, forgive me_ , Poland thought as the stranger beneath him twitched into silence - _what has become of me?_

  
34\. closet  
“Ugh, it’ll be such a hassle to clean up in here,” Poland whined, leaning on Lithuania’s shoulder as they examined a gathering of clothes spanning at least a century.

  
35\. pillow  
Poland’s hair is like a halo in the morning sun, spilling golden onto his pillow, and Lithuania finds himself choking back tears - how very lucky he is.

  
36\. guitar  
It’s not at all like the lute, an instrument they both played years ago, but the sound is pleasantly nostalgic in its own way as they tune it together.

  
37\. school  
Lithuania enjoys teaching, genuinely, and smiles every day as he walks into the school laden with books and hope for a new generation of his beautiful children.

  
38\. work  
Sometimes, he figures as the clock strikes noon and Poland stretches languidly beside him in bed, taking a day off is very nice indeed.

  
39\. journal  
Poland is very bad at keeping track of dates, and even worse at noting them down in his journal - this evidenced by his being late  _again._

  
40\. ladder  
“Steady now, Liet-“ Poland reaches just a little further, and finally manages to bat the basketball out of the tree.

  
41\. shirt  
It hinders him from dressing properly and now he’ll probably be late for his meeting, but Lithuania must admit that Poland wearing only his dress shirt and eating breakfast is incredibly charming.

  
42\. music  
When in the mood, they can make some wonderful music together, piano notes and a pleasant tenor mingling in the soft warmth of their home at Christmas.

  
43\. bullet  
It’s amusing, in its own morbid way, that Poland kept the bullet he had lodged in his head for a day.

  
44\. speaker  
The boom of Lech Wałęsa’s passionate voice rings across the square, and Poland feels his ears ring with noise and his heart ring with the joy of revolution.

  
45\. goodbye  
A good-bye is not one single action, Lithuania thinks as he rifles through old documents with Poland’s handwriting ( _to be burned with the rest_ ), it is a series of events that sting and tear at one’s heart, over and over and over again.

  
46\. tears  
There’s nothing beautiful about the way Poland cries, Lithuania thinks disjointedly as he holds him; it’s raw and heartbreaking and messy, tears falling and face twisted in a silent scream as he grieves.

  
47\. dessert  
They both have a bit of a sweet-tooth, so sharing cake by the fireplace on Christmas Day in the flickering light is as sweet as it gets.

  
48\. coffee  
It’s hot, and scalds his tongue, but Poland nudges a piece of pie against his lips and Lithuania figures the sugar will cure any burn suffered by Poland’s black coffee.

  
49\. blood  
The mangled remains of Poland rest in a dam of blood; the shell of the cathedral above him would invoke piety and faith, but Lithuania only feels slightly sick.

  
50\. roses  
“These are for you, Liet,” he smiles, a wreath of Christmas roses in his arms, and Lithuania smiles and feels warm.

  
51\. rain  
They used to play in the rain, Poland recalls, in a flash seeing two young boys with innocent eyes and clean lungs running through the forest as the droplets fell, so sure of their own little world - oh, how _naive_ they used to be.

  
52\. thunder  
Sometimes, thunder is nice; but mostly, it is too much like bombs and crashing shells, and Poland whimpers like a frightened animal against Lithuania’s neck.

  
53\. light  
Like light in the darkness, at the end of the night, bright breaking dawn, Poland kisses him by the staircase, and for a few blissful seconds, everything is okay.

  
54\. tree  
Poland’s apple tree is wilting, but its single apple shared in a golden afternoon brings back memories of kisses shared in between bites of fruit, warm and sticky-sweet and full of laughter.

  
55\. money  
Watching Lithuania count his rubles is an amusement that lasts far too short a time.

  
56\. tape  
It was Poland’s idea, as are most of their brilliantly bad ideas, but in the end the tape is nice - Lithuania is camera shy but Poland makes up for it - if not as sexy as they had hoped.

  
57\. summer  
An endless summer, he recalled his childhood as, a never-ending blue sky without a cloud, water from the river and sweet, warm cake, and the taste of Lithuania’s name on his lips.

  
58\. water  
“Do you want anything? Water? Oh, _honey_ ,” Poland says, all worry and care as he shifts the cool cloth on a feverish Lithuania's forehead.

  
59\. fire  
“Burn it to the ground,” was the order, and Lithuania watched with stinging eyes from the smoke as Warsaw went up in flames, his heart going with it in one last desperate leap.

  
60\. winter  
Poland hates winter, they both do, the cold seeping in that just won’t leave, that chill in their bones and skin turned pink with frost.

  
61\. snow  
Snow fell on the cemetery this morning, and Lithuania chokes on a sob and throws his bouquet of poppies as far as it will go, because Poland has no grave and there is no reason to be here.

  
62\. ambulance  
“I don’t like ambulances,” Poland mutters as one zooms by, and Lithuania knows all too well why as the siren pierces their ears and he sees his partner flinch.

  
63\. car  
“Would you like a car wash, Mr. Lietuva?” Poland is dressed up in some sort of bikini ordeal, and Lithuania laughs, glad he lives on a deserted street and can ogle all he wants.

  
64\. sex  
Their hands interlace on the pillow sometime during their slow, languid sex, and it’s cliché and wonderful and everything Lithuania could ever want.

  
65\. death  
They don’t speak of it much, but once, Lithuania asked what death was like; Poland’s answer was in Polish and very simple: “ _quiet_ ”.

  
66\. angel  
“My angel, my love,” Poland murmurs, having tackled him against the sofa and fervently kissing every inch of skin he could reach, “I love you so dearly.”

  
67\. miracle  
Lithuania, even if a devout Catholic, did not quite believe in miracles until he saw Poland stand in front of him, real and true.

  
68\. ocean  
It roars at the cliffs like a wounded animal, throwing itself against the rock in a cascade of force and desperation; not so unlike Poland, he thinks, Poland who is stark naked and throwing all of himself back against the icy water, fighting the sea.

  
69\. river  
The water laps at his ankles, and Poland ducks his head under, to the stillness of the water around him, surfacing only when his lungs begin to ache, bursting into the sunlight with a roar of laughter.

  
70\. shoes  
They’re old, grimy, worn and battered with laces unraveling and leather cracking, but they are his boots and Poland polishes them religiously.

  
71\. jacket  
When Poland complains that he is cold, Lithuania only sighs and tugs off his trench coat; he should have expected this and brought a spare.

  
72\. fall  
Lithuania stumbles over his feet and Poland is there to catch him, wiry muscles working to keep him upright, whispering “It’s all right, baby, let’s get you home.”

  
73\. confetti  
There’s confetti all over, on the couch, on the floor, in Poland’s hair, Poland who is sleeping off the booze with a smile on his face; it’s January 2000 - they made it.

  
74\. bed  
It took a week before they got used to sleeping in the same bed again - Poland tosses and turns much more than usual and Lithuania has his nightmares, but they make it work.

  
75\. prison  
They say the mind is a prison, and they’re not too far off; Lithuania is trapped in grey darkness, and not even the shining memory-light of Poland can penetrate his cage.

  
76\. war  
“I did not win the war,” he hears his lover say, at the podium, voice strong and high, “I lost it, and I would like for that fact never to be forgotten.”

  
77\. birthday  
He awakes to a soft mouth at the junction of his hip, and blinks against the morning sun - Poland smiles into his skin and murmurs “Happy birthday.”

  
78\. plane  
While he wishes he had seen the glory of Poland in Air Force uniform, Lithuania is somehow happy he never did; the torment of knowing his reckless habits would have been too much.

  
79\. church  
Poland crosses himself and stands, and in the light from the stained-glass windows (they took the ruined rests of the old ones and forged it anew, Lithuania thinks) he is purer and more beautiful than ever.

  
80\. needles  
Lithuania faints on the table after his vaccine is administered, and wakes up to Poland chuckling warmly and stroking his side.

  
81\. boxes  
“So, open yours first," Poland says with a coy smile - the box is too small for it to be anything but a ring, and Lithuania looks at him and whispers  _yes_.

  
82\. clock  
Tick, tick, tick, tick, it feels like the damn thing just won’t reminding him of time passing; it’s been four weeks, three days, eight hours and forty minutes since he last saw Poland.

  
83\. stairs  
He first saw him on the staircase: grey, drawn, the fire dampened and his leg dragging, a walking stick in his hand so unfitting for someone so young.

  
84\. wave  
He imagines the sound of the ocean; the wash of waves, the cries of seagulls at his shores, but all that comes to him is Latvia crying quietly and someone shouting far away in the old, creaking house.

  
85\. monster  
“I’ve got you,” he hears Poland whisper to the child that used to be his, “There’s no monsters under this bed - I’ll sleep under there and make sure, okay?”

  
86\. lie  
You said, he thinks, wildly and deliriously as he inhales smoke from the burning city, we would always be together, we would stand back-to-back and, and- _Oh_ , my dearest, my Poland, why did I believe your lovely lies?

  
87\. letter  
America shows him the letters one day, and Lithuania reads for almost an hour (he was never good at French), traces his hands over the last words Poland wrote, the last time he penned down Lithuania’s name; he imagines he can feel love in the stale ink.

  
88\. grave  
They did not give Poland one - Russia gloats about this, and Lithuania wants to punch him and never stop.

  
89\. parade  
Lithuania watches the victory parade on blurry television, and imagines (hopes) that the soldier standing at attention, watching, silent resentment in his eyes- Maybe it is him, after all.

  
90\. venom  
Poland’s words are scathing, icy venom, hatred-black and Lithuania suddenly remembers how dangerous a broken man is; he’s like shattered glass, he will embed his hurt in you like a fang sinking deep.

  
91\. dance  
They take one last dance in the living room, past midnight, the record player spitting out soft words in French that circle around their bodies, crushing them close in the low light until their mouths are inches apart and Lithuania is in love.

  
92\. drugs  
“Cheers,” laughs Poland, and lets the drug sear his throat and burn his breath, and they’re both laughing, kissing, hidden and cold and tired and high as free birds.

  
93\. blade  
“Like this,” he says, weighting the sword correctly, seeing Poland copy him, and smiling - they are evenly matched at chess, but with a sword between them, Lithuania has the upper hand.

  
94\. kiss  
Soft, sweet, warm - all words Lithuania would use to describe their usual kisses; though not their first after all those years, that kiss had been ferocious, desperate, pulling at each other and crushing their mouths together hard enough to bruise, swallowing each other’s breaths and words and tears.

  
95\. hug  
“Just hold me, please,” is all Lithuania says, and Poland cradles him close in his lap, hugs his body close and strokes light fingers over the scars beneath his shirt.

  
96\. wall  
Up against the wall, hard, fast, needy and very unlike us but who bloody cares because now we are free, we are free, I have you and you have me and _Lord I missed you so badly_.

  
97\. apology  
“I’m sorry,” says Poland, for the hundredth thousandth time, and Lithuania, for the hundredth thousandth time, kisses the crown of his head and says: “I know.”

  
98\. dream  
His dream has no beginning or end, because he can never be sure whether he is awake or not; he drifts between the cold concrete beneath his starved body and the warm golden comfort of Poland’s arms.

  
99\. love  
“Liet,” he whispers, against his mouth, reverently, their bodies moving so slowly in the evening sun, and Lithuania answers in kind, kissing his breastbone: “Po.”

  
100\. frost  
The grass creaks beneath their light feet, eyes to the sky, hands intertwined, hearts entangled, breaths shared as mist between their faces as they greet the morning.


End file.
